According to court dockets, both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Lottery announced they both will call just two witnesses each in the non-jury trial of House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s lawsuit against the lottery, set for Monday, March 6.
Corcoran sued the agency, which reports to Governor Rick Scott, alleging it was guilty of “wasteful and improper spending” for signing a multi-year, $700 million contract for new equipment from International Game Technology. Corcoran said the Lottery can’t sign “a contract that spends beyond existing budget limitations.” The IGT deal covers an initial 10-year period; the Lottery has exercised the first of three three-year renewal options.
House General Counsel Adam Tanenbaum said he will call JoAnne Leznoff, staff director of the House Appropriations Committee, and Bruce Topp, budget chief for the Government Operation and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee. Both began working for the House in November 2006, House records show. Leznoff is expected to testify about the history of Lottery budget requests, and Topp will discuss the agency’s fiscal policy and communications between House and Lottery staff regarding the IGT contract.
The outside attorney for the Lottery, Barry Richard, said the legislature cannot “micromanage individual contracts” and noted that the state’s “invitation to negotiate” for the contract discloses that any deal would be contingent on “an annual appropriation” from lawmakers. In fact, he adds, such a disclosure is required under state law.
